Thank you again for the reviews! They truly make my day!

this one is a little longer than normal, but I knew when I wanted to end it

January 27, 1944

After the boys had gone, things only went downhill - for the poor hospital staff. Evelyn was restless. She could feel the scabs on her wounds form and slowly shrink. And she could move freely now, albet it slowly, but still she remained in the hospital against her will.

One morning in the bathroom, she curiously lowered her hospital gown from her chest and turned her back towards the mirror. What she saw turned her stomach, even though her wounds were nothing compared to what she had seen on others. Something about seeing something so raw and angry on her own skin was different. She quickly pulled her gown back up.

Evelyn had been officially banned from helping the medical staff after stepping on too many toes. After that had happened, she began to plot her escape.

She stalked the halls every so often, even though the wounds on her thighs didn't allow her to walk for long periods of time. They were tight and warm to the touch, but they were healing. Her ass was an entirely different story, but as long as she didn't sit on the left cheek, she was fine. In her mind, she was healed and ready to get back.

Evelyn got her opportunity one morning when she watched a jeep roll in with a soldier strapped to the stretcher and on his belly. After he was helped onto his feet, she beamed when she saw Perconte's face.

"Frank!" she cried, running to him. She jumped and hugged him close with one arm, the other still sore.

"Evie!" he cried back, but winced. "Ow."

Evelyn pulled back and giggled. "Sorry. Damn, is it good to see you. What happened?"

Perconte rolled his eyes. "Got hit in the ass in Foy. Can you believe it? And to think I gave hell to Popeye and Buck about it."

She giggled again and helped him limp into the hospital. "I can't wait to hear…" She paused, stopping them both. She turned back to the jeep driver. "Hold on, Frank."

She ran up to him. "Where are you headed, soldier?"

The private's eyes widened when he saw the battered woman, speaking to him like a CO. "Haguenau, ma'am, eventually. My orders were to transport the last of the injured soldiers from Bastogne and report back to Colonel Sink for my next assignment."

Evelyn chewed on her lip. "I'm assuming the colonel is still nearby the 506th?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She tried to hide her grin. "Can you wait ten minutes?"

The private narrowed his eyes in confusion. "For what, ma'am?"

"For me."

The private opened his mouth to argue, but she stepped forward and smiled brightly. "I am a sergeant of Easy Company, a veteran of D Day, a goddamn paratrooper, and a trained rifleman. I need a ride to get back to my men to continue the fight against the enemy. Is there a problem, private?"

He swallowed hard. "No, ma'am. Take your time."

Evelyn smiled sweetly. "Thank you. I'll be ten minutes." She walked back to Perconte and took his arm. They made their way into the hospital again, Perconte grinning and shaking his head. She grinned back. "What?"

"Nothin'. Just wish you could stay longer for entertainment purposes alone."

Evelyn laughed until they got to the stretcher waiting for him before the nurses found him a room. She ran up to hers to change into her old ODs, ruined as they were, and came back to him with five minutes to spare. "You'll be OK, Frank?"

Perconte nodded, hugging the pillow to his chest. "A warm bed and hot food? I'll be fine until this place drives me crazy. I expect going AWOL next week. See ya then."

She kissed the top of his head. "Until then."

February 5, 1944

Haguenau, France

It took them a lot longer to get where they needed to go than expected. They had to stop several times to help other wounded soldiers along the way, sometimes coming back to where they came from, but she was being of use again, so she wasn't complaining.

Finally, they rolled into the town. Evelyn grinned as she took in the intact buildings and smell of hot food nearby. This was paradise compared to Bastogne and Foy. She was eager to find everyone and jumped from the jeep before it had even stopped.

"Thanks again, Jimmy."

"Sure thing, Evie. See you around." His trepidation of her faded after a few days. It helped that she didn't threaten him again.

Liebgott saw her jump gingerly from the jeep. He felt his heart beat hard in his chest and his teeth grind. He turned abruptly before she could see him.

But she did. She caught sight of his lanky frame and jogged up to meet him. "Good news. I'm back for more verbal harassment, Liebgott. Have you missed me?" She grinned at him.

He tried to take a deep breath, but it didn't help; he was fuming. "Go bother someone else," he said harshly.

The grin slid from her face. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Liebgott turned to her and she was surprised to see anger in his eyes. "What's wrong is that you're back. Couldn't you just stay outta my hair for once?"

Evelyn blinked in shock, but quickly cursed herself for thinking he'd be happy to see her. For some reason, she thought they were past the days of dislike. "Sure, Joe," she said dully.

He saw the hurt in her eyes and took a breath. He lowered his voice. "What are you doin' here?"

She hardened her gaze. "Same as you," she replied automatically.

He grabbed her elbow with a hand and stepped closer. "Cut the shit. What are you doin' back here? Being torn to bits not enough for ya? What are you thinking?"

It took Evelyn awhile, but she eventually recognized the sliver of worry in his eyes. Her grin reappeared. "You did miss me."

He dropped his hand and scoffed. "What? Hell no. Been damn peaceful."

He turned to walk away, but she stepped in front of him. Her grin softened. "Thanks for helping me out in Foy. I'm loads better, promise."

He studied her eyes for a moment before smirking. "You mean saving your ass? You're welcome." They began walking together.

"You did nothing of the sort, asshole. All you did was grab my ass and ridicule me all the way to the jeep."

"Like I said, you're welcome."

By the time Luz stopped hugging her, her wounds began to ache again, but she wasn't about to complain. She was back with her friends, her second family. And she was back with Luz.

Finally he pulled away, his grin huge. "Damn good to see ya, girl. It's been hell without ya."

Evelyn giggled and joined him behind his supply desk. She had no idea how he got this job, but he was surprisingly good at it, unlike his bartending gig. "Tell me everything I missed."

He immediately got quiet. Her eyes widened and she placed a hand on his arm. "Nevermind. You don't have to say anything."

He squeezed her fingers but shook his head. "Nah, it's good to talk about it. Or that's the idea anyway." He took a deep breath. "The attack on Foy was mayhem. Dike almost got us all killed, and he managed to get a few, but that was before Captain Speirs came to the rescue."

She gasped. "Winters sent Speirs in?" She nodded to herself. Thank God for small miracles. His bravery was known throughout the regiment.

Luz nodded. "Yeah, and I'm tellin' ya, he was a goddamn angel sent from heaven. A scary ass angel, but I'll take what I can get. He saved us. He's leading Easy now."

Evelyn's eyebrows shot up. "Wow." She immediately thought of Adrianna, wondering how her friend was taking the change in command. No matter how much she complained about Speirs, Evelyn knew the girl thought he was an excellent leader and soldier.

"Yeah." He paused again, taking a huge breath in and letting it out slowly. "Before that, Toye and Guarnere got hit. And Buck was takin' off the line, but he's gonna be OK."

She nodded. "I saw the Joe and Bill. They're in England now, and they're going to be fine."

That got a smile from Luz. "That's great news." He paused until she squeezed his fingers again. "Muck and Penkala weren't so lucky. They were hit directly."

Evelyn blinked, the laughing faces of Muck and Penkala replaying in her head. "Skip and Alex? They're dead?"

Luz only nodded until she immediately hugged him hard. They were some of his closest friends. They didn't let go for a long time. When they did, she brushed tears from her eyes and then his. "Are you OK?"

"I'm a thousand times better now seeing your beautiful face, sweetheart." He hugged her again. "Christ, I missed ya."

She closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of being with her best friend again and knowing he was safe. "How's Malark?"

He pulled back and grimaced. "Not great. Bet he'd love seeing you though."

Evelyn gave him a sad smile. "Can you spare me for a bit?" He nodded. "I'll see you later then." With a kiss on his cheek, she was gone.

Evelyn spent the better part of her day with Malarkey, who although was happy to see her, easily fell back into the pale shell of his former self within moments of greeting her. They spent a long time sitting together in silence, their hands clasped.

At dinner, she made her way around the men, saying hello and hugging each of them. She even ruffled Liebgott's hair on her way by, an action that made him still. She had moved on to Heffron before she noticed anything strange.

At the end, Roe's look that he was giving her stopped her in her tracks. He had his arms crossed. She grinned sheepishly. "Hi Eugene. Miss me?"

Another dark look but then he grinned. He engulfed her in a hug. "Of course I did, but that's besides the point. I received a radio transmission a few days ago asking if we had our missing lead medic since she wasn't at the hospital no more."

She blinked innocently. "And did you tell them that I'm a poor, confused woman who should be given a free pass just this once?"

Roe snorted. "Somethin' like that."

That night, she made her way to her assigned bunk in a large apartment. She was eager to get a good sleep, wanting an early morning start at the aid station. She walked in to see her roommates chatting and stripping down for bed.

Evelyn tried not to be obvious after she unlaced her boots. She went under the covers and began wiggling off her OD pants underneath. She did the same for her OD shirt and Tshirt until she was in her underwear, but still covered. She didn't know why, but she didn't want any of them to see her scars.

"Come on, Evie!" cried Heffron. "I've had to see only these guys half naked for weeks. The only thing that kept me going was seeing your beautiful body again!" The others turned towards her and a few of them began complaining as well. Liebgott was silent, but his eyes narrowed in thought.

Evelyn grinned, her blanket up to her chin. "Sorry, Babe. You'll have to wait for your next conquest on leave. Maybe you'll get lucky; Josette might still be around."

Heffron scowled as the others laughed, jostling him playfully. With a wink to him, she turned over, blanket still up near her ears, and she fell asleep.

Evelyn dove right back into work. When she wasn't in the aid station or checking in on Lipton (Roe and Spina eagerly gave her the role of nurse for the new lieutenant. He was miserable with pneumonia.), she made her rotation around the men.

It was clear to her that the effects of Bastogne and Foy carried over into France. Although they had a roof over their heads now and warm food in their bellies, the men were run ragged. It astounded her that they weren't sent on leave yet.

Evelyn just walked into her own barracks right before Webster and another new lieutenant, Jones, entered. As Jones spoke with Malarkey, she studied Webster. She must have had a sour look on her face, because he looked taken aback. "Nice to see you too, Evie."

She tried to phrase the question so it didn't seem like an interrogation, but it was hard. "Did you just get here?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I walked into the room with Lieutenant Jones. He's come in straight from West…"

"Sorry, I meant the regiment. Did you just get back from the hospital?"

Webster's eyes shifted. "Well, yes, but you know how these things are, Evie. Complications…"

"So you had an infection?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Gangrene?"

"No."

"Pretty nurse?"

Webster flushed deeply, annoyed.

Liebgott stepped up beside her. "That's right, Web. Let's add Cassidy to the list."

She turned to him, confused. "What list?"

He smirked but still looked at Webster. "List of soldiers that went AWOL from the hospital. Cassidy got back the other day after being injured only a month before. How many wounds you got, Cass?"

The corner of her mouth twitched up as Webster fidgeted. "Fourteen. Well, fifteen counting the one on my ass, but I tend to think of that one as an Easy company badge of honor."

"Fifteen," murmured Liebgott before whistling. "How many you got, Web?"

Webster scowled before turning away. To her surprise, Liebgott gave her a wink before calling to Webster again. "I'm just givin' ya a hard time, Web. Come here."

Webster reluctantly walked over, his eyes wary. "What do you want?"

"What do you know about this patrol?"

Evelyn's eyes flashed to Liebgott. "What patrol?"

"You gotta work on your eavesdroppin' skills, doll. That kid was just tellin' Malark."

She turned to Webster. "Spill."

Webster sighed before telling them what he knew. Heffron, Grant and the others gathered closer to hear. "Speirs is taking 15 men across the river to retrieve a few krauts for questioning."

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut. What the fuck? The war was supposed to be ending.

"Give us the names, Web," said Heffron.

Webster hesitated until he saw the look from Evelyn. He might have been gone for months, but he remembered not to piss her off. "Heffron, Ramirez and McClung. I'm sure there will be more, but that's what I know of now."

They cursed until Malarkey called them at attention. He had just got off the phone. "Guys, there's a patrol tonight…"

"Yeah, we know. Webster just told us."

"Well, more on that soon, but for now there are winter packs."

"Beautiful. Just in time for the nice, warm house we're in."

"Also, hot showers."

For the first time since she was back, Evelyn watched as all the men's faces lit up. She grinned. "Thank God. You fellas stink."

"Not all of us can smell like roses," drawled Heffron.

Liebgott clapped a hand on Webster's shoulder. "Maybe one day you'll smell like Web too, Cassidy."

With another grin, she threw him a rude gesture. To Malarkey's right, she glanced at Jones, who was staring at her in alarm.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Is there a problem, sir?"

Jones cleared his throat once he noticed everyone was looking at him silently. He straightened his back and said stiffly, "Miss, I don't think it's wise…"

Evelyn interrupted, unable to help her insolence. She had seen too much of this war to put up with any more bullshit, especially from a young officer with a stick up his ass. She gave him a wide smile and blinked innocently. "It's actually Sergeant Cassidy, sir." She lowered her voice and gestured to the crusty sleeve of her ODs, medic cross barely visible. "I know it's hard to see through all the dirt, grime, and blood, but there are real, live chevrons under there somewhere."

Her friends bit their lips and tried their best not to laugh. Jones' eyes narrowed at her, but when she batted her eyelashes again, he relaxed once again. "Sergeant, isn't there a hospital for you to work? I'm sure there's a doctor in need of organizing the men that come in. I've seen for myself the good work the nurses do, keeping up the soldiers' spirit."

She waited a beat before her smile widened further. The men held their breath. They recognized the dangerous glint in her eyes, even if Jones didn't. "You are correct, lieutenant. The hard work by nurses is paramount. And when they're not busy boosting a man's ego - as great of a task as that is - they're elbow-deep inside a soldier's gut or administering life-saving drugs or helping saw a man's destroyed limb off to save his life." Evelyn stepped closer to Jones until he had to look down at her in order to keep her in sight. "Those are only some of the examples of the good work nurses do, lieutenant. But please don't hold me in such a high regard, as I am not a nurse."

In the corner of her eye, she watched as Heffron bit his fist to keep silent and Liebgott choke on some coffee. There seemed to be no off switch for her sass; she gave Jones a wink a moment before the whistle of an incoming mortar was heard overhead.

"Come on!" yelled Malarkey, pushing the soldiers out. "Let's move!"

Evelyn ran with the rest of them, following the men down the stairs and into the basement. Dust bursted from the old walls of the house as blasts hit nearby.

"Get down! Get down!" They all dove under tables and chairs. As soon as it started, it was over.

The Battered Bastards of Bastogne immediately began laughing hysterically once the danger passed. After weeks of living through hell and constant strikes, hiding in the basement of a home seemed hilarious. Only Jones and Webster didn't join in.

Evelyn stood up, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. She grinned at the shocked look on Jones' face. "Hope that didn't put you off dirtying your ODs, sir. Welcome to Easy."

They barely got outside when Lipton got a hold of Malarkey. With a sigh of pain, he announced the remaining soldiers for the patrol: Popeye, Grant, Liebgott, Webster, and more. Malarkey would be leading scout.

Evelyn was silently horrified. In her opinion, Malarkey was hardly able to remain on the line, let alone lead scout into enemy territory. There was nothing she could do. But her attention was grabbed elsewhere; the mortar strike had hit and killed Kiehn, a man whom she wasn't close to, but who was always kind to her. She watched as Roe covered his face with a blanket, a bitter taste entering her mouth.

As the day progressed, the mood of the men steadily fell. She watched from the common room as Winters gathered the 15 men for a debriefing. The only good thing to come from it was that Webster volunteered as translator; Liebgott wasn't needed anymore. And thankfully Malarkey was off the mission. As an added bonus, Perconte showed up again, making good on his promise to go AWOL.

They watched as Martin gave him a hard time about his ass. Evelyn giggled, happy to see some smiles once again. Liebgott nudged her. "Perco just made the list too." She grinned back.

Although she wasn't required to be a part of the covering fire team on the shore, Evelyn was there. From her vantage point, she was able to watch the men leave for the river and overlook the dark town, covered in krauts.

The plan was for the team to go in and capture at least three kraut POWs and then come back again. The covering fire team was ready in case of a battle. Jones' job was to blow the whistle when it was safe for them to fire.

Evelyn laid down on the ground between Liebgott and Malarkey. When Malarkey was pulled off, Martin replaced him as lead. He held up binoculars to view everything better. Evelyn thought she heard a prayer being murmured under his breath.

She got more comfortable before organizing the rounds of the machine gun Liebgott was behind.

"Whatcha doin', Cassidy?" he murmured. "Not up to your regal standards?"

She grinned, laying the rounds on her arms. "If you want to treat me like the queen that I am, Liebgott, I'm all for it. But for now, I'll act as assistant machine gunner. Just don't tell Winters, alright?" He gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. "Went through the same training as you, and you can't deny you'll need the help if push comes to shove."

He raised an eyebrow before looking back into the kraut town. "Well let's just hope I won't need it."

"Amen."

Unfortunately, it turned out he did need her help. Shortly after arriving on the other side of the river, the sounds of grenades and artillery began. The krauts knew they were there.

They watched wide-eyed from the other side, waiting the signal to fire. Liebgott hissed. "Jesus Christ, blow the whistle!"

Finally, Jones signaled. The high pitch of the whistle was the sweetest sound Evelyn had heard all night, and Liebgott immediately began to fire. Evelyn kept up, feeding the rounds into the machine gun with ease. They continued until their men were back across and safe in the bunker. And then there was a call for a medic.

Jumping to her feet, Evelyn ran to the bunker at once. She skidded inside, Liebgott and Malarkey quick on her heels. Jackson, a young replacement, was lying on the table, covered in blood and dust. The others were shouting at the krauts in the corner.

"Move!" she cried. "Let me get in there!" Evelyn pushed and shoved until she was by Jackson's head, trying to look into his eyes. "What happened?"

Webster ran a hand through his hair. "Got hit by his own grenade."

Evelyn took that in as she began to look him over. Jackson gasped and bucked against her hands. "Hold him down!" She began to open his OD jacket. "Eugene, you have to stay still for me, OK? Just stay still."

He didn't seem to hear her, and continued to push up. "Am I gonna die?" he rasped, tears streaming down from his eyes and into his hair.

"Not on my watch you aren't," said Evelyn. She moved to his mouth when it sounded like he began to choke. "Light! I need light!" Heffron lit his lighter and brought it close. She tried to see what was blocking his throat, but there was nothing but blood and torn skin.

His choking turned into sobs. "I don't want to die," he cried. Again and again he said it. The desperate plea chilled her bones.

"Eugene, you're not going to die!" She turned to the men. "Let's move him, come on!" But before they could, he began to choke again. She wrenched open his mouth, but it was too late. She watched as the life left his eyes and his body slowly sagged down into the table, relaxed.

Evelyn's eyes couldn't leave his face. It flashed between his own and Hoobler's and then Julian and then... until Martin placed the blanket over him. She stared where it once was. It wasn't until Martin tugged on her arm to get her to stand that she finally looked away. "Come on, Evie," he murmured. "Nothin' more you can do here."

By the time she trudged back with the men, it was daytime. The exhaustion ran deep into her bones. She had no idea how the others even stood straight. As soon as she was in the barracks apartment, she laid down on her bunk without removing a thing. Perconte watched her, their most recent roommate.

"You OK, Evie?"

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah," she said dully. She heard Liebgott climb into the bunk above her and light a cigarette.

Perconte swallowed hard. "They want another patrol tonight."

She turned to him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

He shook his head. "Wish I was."

Un-fucking-believable.

What turned out to be truly unbelievable was Winters going against Sink's orders for another patrol.

Evelyn didn't have the heart to eavesdrop on this debriefing meeting. She remained in the apartment, sitting on her bed, fingers tightly pulling on her hair. Her bun had long since disappeared. She played with the short hair at the nape of her neck, remembering a happier time on that hangar in England before D-Day.

Just when she couldn't take another moment of silence, she heard boots on the stairs and the men reappeared. She looked at them, head to the side in her hands. She watched as they each walked in, heading towards their own beds.

At the end was Liebgott. When he saw the worry on her face and tears threatening her eyes, he smirked. "Aw, finally gone soft on me, Cassidy? Who knew you'd cry over us."

As always, Liebgott held the key to turning whatever emotion she felt into sudden outrage. She leapt to her feet and got in his face. "Don't you fucking dare imply that I don't care about this company. If I want to fucking cry, I will fucking cry!"

"Even over me?"

She sneered and looked him up and down, his smirk driving her over the edge. "Even you, though I might be the one ending you first."

"Evie," Heffron called from his bunk. "Evie." She turned, her face still hard. "There's no patrol tonight, doll. Winters called it off."

It didn't seem at first that she heard him, but then a moment later her body sagged in relief. "Thank God," she murmured, before hugging Heffron. "Jesus, Thank God." She made her way around the room, hugging each of the men, even Webster, whom she had forgiven for his extended stay away after he fought bravely last night.

Perconte chuckled as she held him tight. "And we're moving off the line tomorrow. Winters is the man."

Evelyn chuckled, wiping her eyes before turning back to her bunk. Liebgott still stood there, the smirk still in place, but his arms wide. "Where's my hug, Cassidy?"

She narrowed her eyes at him before hitting him hard in the chest with her pillow.